it has a wide aperture

When I take photos of families and moving children, I am always looking for a lens with a wide aperture.

With lighting being an important factor in photography, I want to look for glass that lets in a good amount of light so that I can shoot at a fast enough shutter speed that keeps my subjects clear.

A lens with an f-stop of 2.8 means that it lets in quite a bit of light, which is awesome when you want bokeh and sharp images.

For most of these images, I was at f-stop 2.8 – 3.2 which allowed me to have everyone in focus and still able to use the available natural light outside.

the focal length

It's rumored that good portrait lenses can range between focal lengths of 85mm to 120mm, so I like that this 90mm has a focal length between those that produce great portrait images.

Sometimes getting your photo taken can be a little uncomfortable because it's not everyday you're in front of a camera with the pressure to "perform".

So what's great about this lens is that it allows you to be away from your subject and let moments to naturally unfold, but still be able to compress your subjects from the background and create a nice depth of field and background blur.

The lens is also great at allowing you to focus (literally and figuratively) on what’s important and get rid of any distracting elements in the environment!

it’s a lightweight lens

When photographing fast moving children, you want to be able to keep up with them without being boggled down with a heavy lens.

I like that this 90mm is not a zoom lens but rather a prime lens so I was quickly able to move around and zoom with my feet, without having to worry about the weight of a heavy zoom lens.

Since it allowed me to be a little further from the action, I was able to photograph some of the cute activities this little guy was doing and I didn’t have to interrupt him at play or compromise getting the lifestyle shot because the lens was easy to carry and lightweight.

When photographing children and families there are several things to consider depending on your style and what you are trying to capture.

It's my hope that these reasons for this lens might help you when you are deciding which lens is best for your outdoor family sessions!

Tabitha is an on-location family photographer that is passionate about capturing connection and storytelling using a lifestyle approach. Tabitha is based in Atlanta and offers lifestyle newborn, maternity, fresh 48, and family sessions. You can visit Tabitha on her website & Instagram